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34-397: The parish's 11 square miles (28 km) offer the most diverse terrain to be found in a single parish in the country. The northern part of Saint George Basseterre comprises the large Basseterre Valley , one of the most fertile spots on the island. The expansive flatlands are intensively used for agriculture, with the city of Basseterre skirting the coast. The central and southern portions of

68-508: A growth of just under 40% in a two-year period. As tourism grows, the demand for vacation property increases in conjunction. Saint Kitts & Nevis also acquires foreign direct investment from their unique citizenship-by-investment programme, outlined in their Citizenship Act of 1984. Interested parties can acquire citizenship if they pass the government's strict background checks and make an investment into an approved real estate development. Purchasers who pass government due diligence and make

102-404: A lot of the islands' employment and foreign exchange earnings. The parish's former main employer, the sugar factory, officially closed in 2005 following dropping world prices. Saint George Basseterre is home to Saint Kitts' 2 seaports of entry, Port Zante and Deep Water Harbour. Saint George Basseterre is home to three community festivals, Newtown Fest, Gut O'Rama and Village O'Rama. Newtown Fest

136-589: A minimum investment of US$ 400,000, into qualifying government-approved real estate, are entitled to apply for citizenship of the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis. Many projects are approved under the citizenship-by-investment programme. The country hosts an annual St. Kitts Music Festival . Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport serves Saint Kitts. The Basseterre Ferry Terminal facilitates travel between Saint Kitts and sister island Nevis. The narrow-gauge (30 inches ) St. Kitts Scenic Railway circles

170-686: A shallow 3-kilometre (2 mi) channel known as " The Narrows ". Saint Kitts became home to the first Caribbean British and French colonies in the mid-1620s. Along with the island of Nevis, Saint Kitts was a member of the British West Indies until gaining independence on 19 September 1983. The island is one of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles . It is situated about 2,100 km (1,300 mi) southeast of Miami , Florida , US. The land area of Saint Kitts

204-517: Is Mount Liamuiga, formerly Mount Misery, a dormant volcano 1,156 metres (3,793 ft) high. The youngest volcanic centre is Mt. Liamuiga , 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) in diameter and rising to an elevation of 1,155 metres (3,789 ft). Its last eruption was 1,620 years ago, corresponding with the Steel Dust series of pyroclastic deposits on the western flank. The Mansion Series of pyroclastic deposits and andesite with basalt layers occur on

238-611: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Saint Kitts Saint Kitts , officially Saint Christopher , is an island in the West Indies . The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean . Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis constitute one country: the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis . Saint Kitts and Nevis are separated by

272-507: Is about 168 km (65 sq mi), being approximately 29 km (18 mi) long and on average about 8 km (5.0 mi) across. Saint Kitts has a population of about 40,000, the majority of whom are of African descent . The primary language is English , with a literacy rate of approximately 98%. Residents call themselves Kittitians . The island is named after the Christian Saint Christopher ; "Kit"

306-472: Is also home to several institutions of higher education, including Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine , Windsor University School of Medicine , and the University of Medicine and Health Sciences . The capital of the two-island nation, and also its largest port, is the town of Basseterre on Saint Kitts. There is a modern facility for handling large cruise ships there. A ring road goes around

340-734: Is held in East Basseterre, mainly centered on the Newtown community, one of the oldest settled wards in the city of Basseterre. Held in mid-September, it features calypso shows, beauty pageants, jam sessions and late night liming sessions. Gut O'Rama is an annual festival held in Central Basseterre, with most activities located in the Westbourne Ghaut area (thus the name). The other community festival in Basseterre

374-761: Is located on the coast of Basseterre Bay, but the city also stretches northward into the parish of Saint Peter Basseterre . The location is ideal, as it is the congregation of the island's 4 main thoroughfares (West to Sandy Point, East to Cayon, North to Monkey Hill, and South to the South East Peninsula). The parish's other settlements act as suburbs to the city. Some of the suburbs are Frigate Bay, Mattingley, Bird Rock, Harbour View and New Road. The rich agricultural lands surrounding Basseterre are heavily cultivated, mainly with fruits and vegetables for local consumption as well as for sale to cruise ships and hotels. Being home to all of St. Kitts' white sand beaches,

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408-794: Is the economic heart of Saint Kitts and Nevis, and is of significant importance to the greater Eastern Caribbean area. Most Kittitians and also many Nevisians work in the city. Basseterre is a regional financial centre, home to the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank Headquarters, as well as the Eastern Caribbean Stock Exchange. It is also home to the Eastern Caribbean's largest light manufacturing industry. The many hotels and resorts in Frigate Bay also are responsible for

442-449: Is the oldest running and largest (by participant population) community festival in St. Kitts, Village O' Rama. Held in early December, it has the usual festival celebrations (calypso, pageants and jamming), held in 'De Village,' the name given to the collective Western Basseterre communities (because the ward resulted from the overgrowth and amalgamation of several small, separate villages once in

476-728: The Igneri people, members of the Arawak group. Around 1300 AD, the Kalinago , or Carib people arrived on the islands. These agriculturalists quickly dispersed the Igneri, and forced them northwards to the Greater Antilles . They named Saint Kitts "Liamuiga" meaning "fertile island", and would likely have expanded further north if not for the arrival of Europeans. A Spanish expedition under Christopher Columbus arrived and claimed

510-601: The UNESCO World Heritage Site at Brimstone Hill and the now-crumbling Fort Charles . Since 1783, Saint Kitts has been affiliated with the Kingdom of Great Britain , which became the United Kingdom . The island originally produced tobacco , but farmers switched to sugarcane in 1640 because of stiff competition from the colony of Virginia . The labour-intensive cultivation of sugar cane

544-480: The Middle Range to the southeast. This Middle Range is another stratovolcano 976 m in height with a small summit crater containing a lake. Next in line is the 900 metres (3,000 ft) South East Range, 1 Myr in age, consisting of four peaks. Ottley's dome and Monkey Hill dome are on the flanks, while the older volcanoes represented by Canada Hills, and Conaree Hills lie past the airport and Basseterre on

578-740: The South East Peninsula in Saint George Basseterre is the centre for the island's tourism industry. At present, nearly all the tourism development is at the resort town of Frigate Bay, ideally located on a narrow isthmus with 2 fine beaches (one on the Caribbean side and one on the Atlantic side) within 5 minutes walking distance of one another. It is also home to Saint Kitts' championship golf course. Capital – Basseterre Other Villages : Saint George Basseterre

612-624: The area). The bulk of the Eastern section of the Basseterre Valley (about 2 square miles) is to be developed into a large national park, in attempt to protect the aquifer system beneath it. Future tourism developments are centred on the Great Salt Pond area in the south. Villa developments are also in the works on various hills and ridges on the peninsula, as well as a dolphin park on South Friar's Bay. The city of Basseterre

646-481: The dismay of the Nevisians and Anguillans. Anguilla left this arrangement in 1971, after an armed raid on Saint Kitts in 1967. Sugar production continued to dominate the local economy until 2005, when, after 365 years of having a monoculture , the government closed the sugar industry . This decision was made because of huge losses and European Union plans to greatly cut sugar prices. For purposes of governing,

680-475: The industry in 2005. Tourism is a major and growing source of income to the island, although the number and density of resorts is less than on many other Caribbean islands. Transportation , non-sugar agriculture, manufacturing and construction are the other growing sectors of the economy. Saint Kitts is dependent on tourism to drive its economy. Tourism has been increasing since 1978. In 2009, there were 587,479 arrivals to Saint Kitts compared to 379,473 in 2007,

714-428: The island and offers passenger service from its headquarters near the airport, although the service is geared more for tourists than as day-to-day transportation for residents. Built between 1912 and 1926 to transport sugar cane from farms to the sugar factory in Basseterre, since 2003 the railway has offered a 3.5-hour, 30-mile circle tour of the island on specially designed double-decker open-air coaches, with 12 miles of

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748-564: The island for Spain in 1493. The first English colony was established in 1623, followed by a French colony in 1625. The English and French briefly united to pre-empt a Kalinago ambush. They massacred the local Kalinago , and then partitioned the island, with the English colonists in the middle and the French on either end. In 1629 , a Spanish force sent to clear the islands of foreign settlement seized St. Kitts. The English settlement

782-545: The island is divided into nine parishes : Saint Kitts & Nevis uses the Eastern Caribbean dollar , which maintains a fixed exchange rate of 2.7-to-one with the United States dollar . The US dollar is almost as widely accepted on the island as the Eastern Caribbean dollar. For hundreds of years, Saint Kitts operated as a sugar monoculture , but due to decreasing profitability, the government closed

816-447: The northern flank, along with mudflows . This volcano has a crater 900 metres (3,000 ft) wide and 244 metres (801 ft) deep, plus two distinct parasitic domes consisting primarily of andesite , Brimstone Hill and Sandy Point Hill which is coalesced with Farm Flat. Brimstone Hill is noted for having limestone on its flanks, which was dragged upward with the formation of the dome 44,400 years ago. Mt. Liamuiga partially overlays

850-515: The parish constitute Saint Kitts' South East Peninsula , and has a strikingly contrasting arid climate. It is made up of eroded hills, scrub vegetation, salt ponds and white sand beaches. The largest pond, the Great Salt Pond, covers 3 square miles (7.8 km). A mile offshore, in the centre of the channel separating Saint Kitts and Nevis lies Booby Island , a rocky island not officially claimed by Saint George Basseterre nor Saint James Windward. The capital city of Saint Kitts and Nevis, Basseterre ,

884-609: The perimeter of the island with smaller roads branching off it; the interior of the island is too steep for habitation. Saint Kitts is 10 km (6.2 mi) away from Sint Eustatius to the north and 3 km (1.9 mi) from Nevis to the south. St. Kitts has three distinct groups of volcanic peaks: the North West or Mount Misery Range; the Middle or Verchilds Range and the South East or Olivees Range. The highest peak

918-457: The southeast flank. The Salt Dome Peninsula contains the oldest volcanic deposits, 2.3–2.77 Myr in age, consisting of at least nine Pelean domes rising up to 319 metres (1,047 ft) in height, which includes Williams Hill and St. Anthony's Peak . During the last ice age , the sea level was up to 91 metres (300 ft) lower and St. Kitts and Nevis were one island along with Saba and Sint Eustatius (also known as Statia). St. Kitts

952-432: Was abolished by an Act of Parliament which became law on 1 August 1834. This emancipation was followed by four years of forced enslavement, put in place to protect the "planters" (plantation owners) from losing their free labour force. 1 August is now celebrated as a public holiday and is called Emancipation Day . In 1883, Saint Kitts, Nevis , and Anguilla were all linked under one presidency, located on Saint Kitts, to

986-563: Was also a venue for the 2007 Cricket World Cup . 17°17′30″N 62°41′30″W  /  17.29167°N 62.69167°W  / 17.29167; -62.69167 Basseterre Valley The Basseterre Valley is a low-lying valley on the island of Saint Kitts , surrounded by the Canada Hills and Olivees Mountain . It contains Basseterre , the capital of Saint Kitts and Nevis . The valley has two rivers or ghauts named Westbourne Ghaut and College Ghaut . The Basseterre Valley

1020-493: Was formerly a common diminutive of "Christopher". Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park , a UNESCO World Heritage Site , is the largest fortress ever built in the Eastern Caribbean. The island of Saint Kitts is home to the Warner Park Cricket Stadium , which was used to host 2007 Cricket World Cup matches. This made Saint Kitts and Nevis the smallest nation to ever host a World Cup event . Saint Kitts

1054-576: Was occupied in 1627 by the French and populated. Now, Basseterre has suburbs such as Greenlands , Bird Rock, Taylor's Range and others. The valley has a harbour called Port Zante . It is reclaimed land from the sea. Port Zante is undergoing construction to become a state-of-the-art port facility, with duty-free shopping malls, restaurants, and maybe a hotel. 17°18′N 62°44′W  /  17.300°N 62.733°W  / 17.300; -62.733 This Saint Kitts and Nevis location article

Saint George Basseterre Parish - Misplaced Pages Continue

1088-521: Was originally settled by pre-agricultural, pre-ceramic "Archaic people", who migrated south down the archipelago from Florida. In a few hundred years they disappeared, to be replaced by the ceramic -using and agriculturalist Saladoid people around 100 BC, who migrated to St. Kitts north up the archipelago from the banks of the Orinoco River in Venezuela . Around 800 AD, they were replaced by

1122-541: Was rebuilt following the 1630 peace between England and Spain. The island alternated repeatedly between English (then British ) and French control during the 17th and 18th centuries, as one power took the whole island, only to have it switch hands due to treaties or military action. Actions included the Siege of Brimstone Hill and the Battle of Saint Kitts . Parts of the island were heavily fortified, as exemplified by

1156-497: Was the reason for the large-scale importation of African slaves . The importation began almost immediately upon the arrival of Europeans to the region even though sugarcane wasn't cultivated for another two hundred years on the island, leading some to discredit the earliest claims of imported African labour. The purchasing of enslaved Africans was outlawed in the British Empire by an Act of Parliament in 1807. Slavery

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